Comforting Words
by LongLost10
Summary: Prompt: Tillow circa The Yoko Factor where Tara listens to/comforts Willow after the argument with Buffy, Xander, and Giles


"Someone she can count on... how many times have _I_ saved her from the forces of darkness? Demons, homework assignments... I've done it all for her! After everything we've been through, how could she say that?" Willow sounded as if she were choking back tears, despite the anger coursing through her veins.

After the disaster that was the Scooby meeting at Giles' house, Tara convinced Willow to stay the night at her place, not that it was a hard choice to make. The redhead didn't exactly want to return to her room right away to see the Slayer. While there was a part of her that wasn't convinced Buffy would be there, she didn't want to risk the encounter. Tara's dark room was more of a haven than anything she could have thought of herself.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way." Tara said, albeit a little distractedly. The witch was sitting cross legged on her bed with an textbook in her lap. While she was concerned about her girlfriend's emotional rage, she had her own schoolwork to do. It was perfectly acceptable to listen to the (very) skewed account of the night while looking over the psychological aspects of children. "She was wrapped up in the moment and anger got the better of her. Everyone said things they didn't mean."

Willow stopped pacing and stared at the other woman, almost in disbelief. "But she said it. That means there was a grain of truth. And I chose where I went to university based on where she was going!" While the statement wasn't completely true, it was driven by the emotion behind her current thought process. "I could have gone to Oxford or Yale or Harvard! But no, I chose little U.C. Sunnydale. To fight the good fight." She said the last sentence a little bitterly as she plopped down on the bed next to Tara. "High School Willow was stupid, thinking it was worth it."

It took everything that Tara had within her not to sigh aloud at Willow's weird logic. She quietly closed her textbook and put it on the floor beside the bed. "You mean you rather go off to England or some fancy university than be here with me?" It was a bit of a guilt trip, but Tara had to ground her girl. Willow was flying high in the clouds with no intent of coming back down. To sell the deal, she even pouted her bottom lip playfully.

The strategy seemed to have worked as Willow looked over at her and shook her head, rewarding Tara with a small kiss on the lips. "Never." A smile appeared on Willow's lips and Tara could see the emotions starting to settle behind the green eyes. "You are the silver lining of this horrible demon-nest we call a town."

"Good." Tara said, straightening up a little before wrapping her arms around Willow. "I'm glad."

Willow snuggled into the embrace as Tara held her, trying to be as much of a comfort as possible. "I can't believe we said those things." The redhead's voice was quiet and barely reached Tara's ears as she voiced her worries. "We were horrible to each other."

"I know."

"Xander thinks we're shipping him off to the army."

"I heard."

"And he's my best friend."

Tara squeezed Willow as it seemed that the night's events rolled over her all over again, this time more carefully. She had never had friends as close as Buffy and Xander and Willow were so her experience in fighting with friends from kindergarten was surprisingly small. "It's okay. You all just need to cool off. Time heals all wounds, you know." She said, hoping she sounded more confident at the end then she felt. She of all people knew that time didn't heal every wound... sometimes it barely helped cover them up.

A small groan of uncomfortable sadness squeaked out of the redhead, pulling away from her. "How will they ever forgive me?" Willow's eyes were full of legitimate worry and concern and Tara couldn't help but smile kindly back at her. How was she so lucky to fall in love with a woman so concerned about the stability of a friendship after a small fight?

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a small fight, but it was still a fight between friends.

"Maybe you can do something?" Tara suggested.

At this, Willow's face lit up. "Oh! Oh! I know! I could make them gift baskets and personalize them! Buffy could get all sorts of makeup and weapons and Xander can get more manly stuff! Not too manly though, I don't want him to think he's not manly or something, but I can ask Anya about what he'd want. Maybe something to put on his hard hat at the construction site-"

"Maybe something smaller?" Tara interrupted, trying to cut off the babble before it got to epic proportions. "What about the disks?" Confusion appeared on her girlfriend's face at the mention of the disks. "You know the encrypted disks? From the Initiative?" Tara baited her some more, hoping it'd click.

And click it did. "That's a great idea Tara! Tomorrow morning I'll totally get down and dirty and decrypt-" A smile went away as quickly as it appeared as Willow made a realization that made her stomach twist into a knot. "They're still at Giles'. With my laptop. I forgot to grab it when we left earlier..."

Tara looked at the redhead with a look that looked slightly like pity. "You'll just have to go back tomorrow, sweetie."

It would be an awkward encounter, yes, but it wouldn't be long. "Come with me?" Willow looked to the witch as she asked the question, feeling slightly childish. "Be my safety blanket?"

"You won't need a safety blanket but of course I'll go." Tara laughed. "You don't have to worry. Giles is practically a second father to you. He still loves you." She reached out and took Willow's hand in hers. "Just like I do." She brought their entwined hands to her lips and placed a small kiss on them, staring over the skin to look at her girl.

The Wiccan's heart melted at Tara's words. "I know... it's just... we've never fallen out like this before."

With a sigh, Tara took Willow's hand and gently pulled her up towards the head of the bed. "It'll get better, just give it time." She pulled back the covers and motioned for Willow to get under them, matched with a stern yet motherly look. When the other girl complied, Tara tucked the blankets around her. "Now we'll help the time go by faster by going to sleep now. Try not to think about it."

With a smile, she crossed over to the bedside table and turned off the lamp, plunging the room into half darkness. Tara bent down and picked up the psychology book from earlier and walked over to her desk, turning on a smaller desk lamp as she sat down. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just finishing up some reading for my education class." Tara said kindly, turning in the chair to look at Willow. "Do you mind?" Willow shook her head but Tara knew that the other girl just wanted her to crawl into bed with her. After reading the same paragraph a few times, she realized that there was just no winning this one. With a sigh, she closed the book and turned off the light, moving back towards the bed. "Okay, I'm here."

Instantly, Willow's arms wrapped around her, almost as if she was a life preserver. "Do you think you and me'll ever fight like the we fought tonight?" The words were quiet but laced with worry.

As Tara snuggled more into the embrace that Willow took her in, she shook her head. "Maybe. But I don't think so. Friends fight. It's the nature of humans."

"Human nature is stupid."

"Tell me about it."


End file.
